On March 19, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki dedicated the ultrasound machine and watched as LPHC Director Debbie Shultz cut the pink ribbon that was wrapped around it. The dedication service included several prayers, a scripture reading, comments from Debbie Shultz and her husband Tim Shultz, and Bishop Paprocki’s comments and blessing.
Also crowded into the ultrasound room that day were board and staff members of LPHC; Cliff Erwin, who oversaw the project; Grand Knights from the three councils that supported the project, Greg Lueken from Council 364, Rodger Anderson from Council 4179 and David Dixon from Council 10556; Bill Doerfler, state secretary for the Illinois Knights of Columbus; Sister Jane Boos, SSND, Deacon David Erdmann, Karla Crews and Nancy Murray, representing the diocesan Office for Social Concerns and Respect for Life; Cathy Coughlin, president of Springfield Right to Life; and Father Brian Alford.
“Sister Jane was instrumental in getting the project approved by the diocese,” said Erwin. He said Past Grand Knight David Groesch from Council 364, Aaron Ross from Council 4179, Past Grand Knight Gene Maley from Council 10556, and Herb Dennis, treasurer from Council 364 also assisted in the project. Parishes that raised funds were Christ the King, St. Agnes, Blessed Sacrament and Little Flower in Springfield; St. Joseph the Worker in Chatham, and Holy Cross in Auburn.
Most of the funds were raised when parishioners took home baby bottles and filled them with donations. St. Agnes Parish also held a mystery dinner theater that raised in excess of $2,600.
The project raised more than $25,000, said Erwin, noting that the machine costs much more but the project qualified for a matching grant from the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council that was added to pay the actual price. The Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Program is aimed at providing women considering abortion a new way of viewing the life within them.
Erwin said that all surplus funds collected for the ultrasound campaign will go toward the purchase of a mobile medical center and other needs associated with the operation of the LPHC ultrasound project.
“Once the ultrasound project is fully operational at the Lifetime Pregnancy Health Center, a quarterly report will be provided to all participating councils and parishes on the number of clients served and the number of babies saved as a result of the ultrasounds,” Erwin said.
Just before Bishop Paprocki blessed the ultrasound machine, Debbie and Tim Shultz shared the background of how they came to open the pregnancy health center. They said they understand the fear that accompanies an unexpected pregnancy. As a young unmarried couple they succumbed to outside pressures when Debbie became pregnant and subsequently had an abortion.
“I felt so guilty it was literally like I was carrying around a backpack full of rocks,” Debbie Shultz said, noting that she and her husband married after the abortion and “God blessed us with five children.”
In 2002, Debbie Shultz attended a weekend women’s conference that allowed her to finally forgive herself. “God completely took away my shame,” she said. A few years later she and her husband began their faith-based center “hoping to give people the support that wasn’t around for me in 1986.”
“We have been open for more than five years,” she said, adding that so far about 40 babies have been saved through LPHC, which is located in a small house at 104 North Grand Ave. E. “Those were cases where the mother was abortion-minded and then came to us and ended up having the baby.”
At the blessing ceremony, Debbie Shultz expressed her appreciation for what Erwin and the Knights of Columbus and the participating Catholic parishes have done to help expectant parents. “We’ve been praying for this day and we are so thankful for the Knights of Columbus for the ultrasound machine. A year ago having this machine here wasn’t even a possibility,” she said. “God called us to start this ministry and we know God is the one who is leading us.”